DaVinci's 'Vitruvian Man' - Did you ever notice that he has his whole penis?

by: ErinKate23

I know, talking about baby penises seems like a strange choice for a blog post. I used to think that penises came in two varieties, circumcised and uncircumcised....but education is a powerful thing. Now, I know that they only come in one style - Natural- and we, as parents, choose to alter what God or Nature or Evolution or The Great Spaghetti Monster created.

Why am I calling "uncircumcised" penises "natural"? Most of the "intactivist" culture uses the word "Intact", which is also accurate, but really, an uncircumcised penis is exactly that - natural.

Just like women without breast implants have "natural" boobs, or a person has their "natural" nose before a nose job. It's the way nature made it - therefore, a natural penis. Does that mean a circumcised penis is unnatural? Yes, it does.

I do want to note that I'm not anti-circumcision. If an adult man wants to modify his body, that is his choice and I support it - just as I would support a woman who wanted labiaplasty, or anyone who wanted to stretch their earlobes or tattoo their body. I am opposed to the routine circumcision of infants for non-medical reasons.

So, here are 50 reasons to leave your son's penis alone and not let a doctor cut it up.

1.) It's his.

2.) I've never met a man who wanted "less" penis when he was old enough to care. Men tend to like their penises just the way they are.

3.) You can change your mind. It's not possible to "un-circumcise", although there are men who have chosen to restore their foreskin later in life. If you're not sure, don't decide at all. It's a non-decision. :)

5.) Circumcision isn't the majority for newborns anymore. According to theNew York Times, the infant circumcision rate is down to 32%. That means 68% of your son's locker room will likely have natural penises. If you circumcise, he will probably ask you why he's different from his buddies.

9.) It hurts. A lot. Really. Don't believe me? Watch a video. With the sound up, please. If you can't watch the whole thing, can you really ask your newborn to go through it?

10.) Babies can't be properly anesthetized. An older child or adult would begiven anesthesia and strong pain medication after any kind of operation, especially one on their genitals. Babies can't have proper pain medication.

16.) The foreskin provides lubrication during sexual intercourse. Men with natural penises are less likely to use lubrication during sex or masturbation (hey, THAT's why my brothers were always stealing my conditioner! Mom would have saved a fortune on bathroom supplies by leaving them natural...)

17.) No major medical organization on earth recommends routine circumcision of infants.

18.) It's easy to clean when he's older. Shower. Besides, by the time his foreskin is retractable, (average age, 10.4 years old), you will no longer be cleaning his penis. I hope.

19.) Circumcision does not prevent AIDS, or any other STD. Condoms do. Having sex with one, monogamous partner and avoiding IV drug use prevents AIDS. Why would you assume your baby's going to be a man-whore anyway?

20.) We don't chop off ears to prevent ear infections. We don't remove baby toenails to prevent fungal infections. We don't cut off legs anymore when a wound becomes infected. In the very unlikely event your son does develop an infection, we have antibiotics.

21.) Circumcision in the US began as a method to discourage masturbation, advocated by Kellogg, the cereal magnate, who also believed in the importance of daily cold enemas. Really - true story!! He stressed that circumcision should be done without anesthesia so boys would remember the pain every time they wanted to masturbate. How'd that work out?

22.) Natural penises only "look funny" to you if they are unfamiliar to you. Your son's generation will see them as normal.

23.) Women produce far more smegma than men, but we don't cut off their baby girl labia to keep things "clean."

24.) Your son will respect you for leaving the decision up to him, and for respecting his right to genital integrity.

25.) Complications of circumcision are NOT rare. Check out this thread on Babycenter.com (a mommy board, not a circumcision website) to read their stories.

27.) Circumcision is not usually performed in a sterile operating room, but in a dirty nursery or a side room in hospitals without nurseries.

28.) Circumcision makes money for doctors. A doctor who performs circumcisions makes an extra $20,000-160,000 per year on the operations. That's why they offer circumcision at hospitals - for cash. They'll ask you if you want your son circumcised multiple times at the hospital: they want the money.

29.) Less than 1% of intact men will ever "need" to be circumcised, just as the vast majority of women will never need a hysterectomy or mastectomy.

32.) Fathers don't spend time comparing penises with their sons. If your son does notice that his penis is different from Dad's (other than size and hair), you can simply explain that Daddy had an operation when he was a baby. My dad lost half of his ring finger in an accident, but I was never bothered by having all of my fingers.

33.) Your grandfather (or great-grandfather) probably wasn't circumcised, unless you are of Jewish or Muslim descent. It's a relatively new thing in the USA.

34.) Most circumcised penises have scars. If you've ever seen a circumcised penis, you have probably seen circumcision scars and didn't know what they were. Curious? Click here for pictures (adult eyes please, extremely graphic).

42.) If you are Christian, your religion actually *forbids* circumcision. Your son's body is a temple, and Jesus was the sacrifice to end all sacrifices - including the foreskin. See this link for more info.

43.) If you are Jewish, you should know that there is considerable debate about the religious necessity of circumcision.

44.) If you do believe that your religion requires the sacrifice of the foreskin, your son can choose to sacrifice his foreskin in the name of religion when he is old enough to make the decision himself.

45.) The foreskin is fused to the head of an infant's penis, just like your fingernail is fused to your finger. Have you ever pulled back your fingernail all the way? Owwwwwwwwwwwww.

47.) "My partner should make the decision, he has a penis/she looks at penises" is a dumb reason to abdicate responsibility for a decision. You are your baby's parent, penis or not, and you have a responsibility to protect your child from harm. Victims of FGM (aka female circumcision) are the most vocal supporters and perpetrators of the abuse. Call on your inner Mama or Papa-bear and stand up for your baby's rights. Make your partner watch a video with the sound on and convince YOU why they want this done to their precious child.

48.) You have seen an uncircumcised penis, and you probably didn't even notice. Take a look below at the (safe for kids) picture!

49.) He'll be in good company. Check out this (in my opinion, mouth-watering) gallery of famous intact men! From Elvis, James Dean, Will Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jude Law and sooo many others.

50.) It's his. I know, I said it already. but it's really the first and last reason - and perhaps the only one you really need. It's his body, and unless medically necessary, it should be his choice. You wouldn't give him a nose job without his permission, you wouldn't tattoo your infant. This is the same thing. If you really look at your motives, why would you want to take the risks? Leave the decision where it belongs - in your son's hands.

29.) Less than 1% of intact men will EVER "need" to be circumcised, just as the vast majority of women will never need a hysterectomy or mastectomy.

Thanks for sharing this, WHOLE!

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Urologist

11/17/2010 12:58:08 pm

I am sorry you feel that way. However, your link is very biased. My parents had me circumcised. For what reason I don't know. I have not had either of my sons because I believe it should be their choice. Even so, you are giving out false information. There are many of your "50 Points" that are incorrect. I do advocate not circumcising your child. Yet to do so under false pretenses and incorrect information would be just as wrong as those cutting their children believing it helps somehow. Please update your info and do not put more false ideas into the heads of the uneducated. Sincerely, Allen Reed

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katie

1/14/2012 12:21:34 pm

I agree! to think people are believing some of this stuff is ridiculous.

I agree, it's a point I've made many, many times times in the debate over infant circumcision but people just don't seem to understand my reasoning.

Many of these 50 points are accurate and helpful, but the fact that there are a number of unsubstantiated (unproven, or just downright false) claims mixed in with them completely destroys the message.

Think of it this way; someone who was planning to circumsise is reading this... they get through several of the accurate, unbiased reasons not to and are just starting to get on board - at least with looking into it properly and maybe reconsidering - and then BAM! they come across an understudied / inconclusive area of study stated as "fact" or, in some cases, obvious pieces of pure sensationalism. What effect will that have? It'll turn them instantly away, and all of the points well made will have been for nothing.

Think of it this way; you're usually a naive, innocent patriot who fully believes in your government. You start reading an article about the way modern politics works, it's making good, verified, level-headed claims and you're starting to think "Hmm... maybe the world isn't as I thought it was?" and then all of a sudden,

"Point #33: The government high-ups are vampire aliens who want to eat your children and cats!!"

Game over. If a few points are inaccurate, poorly backed up, sensationalist or divisive... the immediate assumption is going to be that the whole piece is the same. By trying to score points, in my opinion, underhandedly, you lose your target audience (i.e. people who have not yet decided whether or not to circumcise their children) and start preaching to the choir; to already dedicated non-circ advocated who will applaud your every word... but it won't matter... because they didn't / weren't going to circumcise anyway.

My personal feelings on the matter are actually in agreement with your last point. There is only one point that people REALLY need to understand; that a child's body is his/her own and that we as parents have absolutely no right to tamper with it. Their own decisions later in life, are entirely their own.

I've recently had it suggested to me that not everyone will be willing to go with that (and, indeed, (too) many parents do NOT see things this way, and see children as property) and so other convincing points need to be made. To that end, I think the effective and useful points in your blog are:

#1, #3, #4, #5, #6, #9, #10, #17,

#19 though there's really no need for the man-whore comment,

#22, #24,

POSSIBLY #28 [the "doctors want cash" aspect], depending on your audience, to be honest the vast majority of people you're trying to convince will find this hard to believe / conspiracy theory-ish (even though it's true...)

#31. Interfering with breastfeeding is of course very relevant... sometimes. Those who are sick of the BF/FF debate may well tune out. I run an anti "cry it out" group - I try to keep the breastfeeding debate as far away from it as possible, for that very reason, even though it's relevant.

#36 [can cause death] definitely worth mentioning that it DOES happen, but again, be careful of sensationalising risk. The death rate - although any infant death is, of course, unforgivable - as a percentage is absolutely miniscule, and is not a flat average, you have to adjust for the standard of medical care. Some of your audience will know this. Failing to acknowledge it is divisive.

#44, #50

That leaves 15 good points... umm... actually didn't realise I'd cut so many :/. To be perfectly honest, I did discover while I was going through them that a fair few are basically the same points stated in different ways... but yes, anyway, they're 15 very good, very effective points that in MY opinion should sway any concerned parent away from doing it. In other words, anyone who isn't swayed by those, isn't going to be swayed... and many of the others are detrimental to the message. I'm not entirely convinced that you put enough solid research into this piece, to be honest.

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Rambo

2/17/2012 06:47:23 am

I should clarify, though, that a few of the reasons I cut out aren't because they're "false", I suggested cutting a few that may well be (in ways) true, simply because they lack finesse (which is, in my opinion, essential to persuasion), come across wrongly and are counter-productive.

Again, I'm assuming that the aim is to effectively convince parents not to circumsise their infants... and not for non-circ parents to pat each other on the back for their decision.

Life W/ Botched RIC

5/12/2012 12:02:19 pm

Dr. you don't know what you are talking about! You have not lived w/ a botched job. Life is ugly and it has made me crazy at times to think that I was damaged for no good reason. I have 2 pounds of titanium from going crazy over the fact that I was cut to the balls and the nerves were cut. I feel like I was fixed by some mean Dr. that did not want me to enjoy life.

I have a normal son in spite of the best lies the medical profession could through at us. He likes being normal but we had to fight American biased doctors all the time he was growing up. What is wrong with you Doctors? Don't you make enough money as it is.

I asked my parents why they did not wait to find out what I wanted and they repeated all the Dr. lies about how it has to be done at birth. The truth is the Dr. know that no kid in his right mind would consent to having his body cut up so the Dr. can make his car payment.

Then you lie to the parents about how safe it is, and never tell them about men like me. When I hear about some poor guy that seamed to go crazy and become self destructive I wonder if the underlying cause is a bad RIC.

You complain about some inaccuracies but what about all the decades of Dr. Lies like " This is the best time because they don't feel any thing down there yet" Go watch on youtube and tell me they don't feel anything. So what do you think is going to happen when some 13 year old see that and goes that was ME back then how could you do that to me! Your Dr. lies are coming back to haunt you through the internet the truth is coming out AND IT IS UGLY.

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Urologist's Master

10/26/2012 05:32:29 am

Take it from someone WAS circumcised and does NOT like it and it does effect negatively. Someone who had no choice someone who is in total agreement with this article. You didn't even say anything about who moral it is to cut someone without consent.

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ErinKate23

11/18/2010 03:22:58 am

Urologist,

I spent a lot of time researching this piece, and tried to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information I could. I provided links in pretty much every circumstance to the source of my information, primarily scientific studies.

If I have provided misinformation, please detail which are inaccurate and provide me with the more accurate information. I am not a medical doctor and I'm always open to learn more, especially from someone whose specialty is the male anatomy.

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ErinKate23

11/18/2010 03:23:57 am

Urologist - also, I don't quite understand why you're "sorry" I feel the circumcision decision should be left up to the child when you made the same decision yourself. Clarification would be appreciated.

Awesome, awesome, awesome list! Every pregnant couple should be forced to read this list!

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April

11/18/2010 01:30:35 pm

I wouldn't go so far as to compare removing a foreskin the same as removing a leg. But as extreme as some people think it may be I do think it is accurate to compare it to removing an eyelid.

Think abou it. The eye is a moist organ seen on the outside, but it is really an internal organ. So is the glans of the penis and the labia. The eye has a naturally occuring bacteria, as does the penis and vulva. If you remove your eye lid, the eyeball will dry out, change its texture and function, reducing its abilities without comprehension of long term effects on many areas of life- the same as cutting off the foreskin or clitoral hood.

As a mutilated man of 64, I can only too well appreciate your 50 reasons. You may have missed another; amongst men over the age of 50 who consult their GP about erectile dysfunction, circumcised men outnumber natural men two to one. Inability to erect is one type of ED, inability to ejaculate is another.

Dr Kellog was both right and wrong about foreskin removal preventing masturbation. He was wrong to say it prevented it, when I was young I masturbated vigorously and often; but now I can manipulate as much as I want and frequently never ejaculate, which is very frustrating.

My son is natural and problem-free in 26 years.

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Betsy

5/13/2011 05:09:27 am

Hey! Excellent article! I just have one mistake to point out. FGM was not outlawed in the US until 1996 (a bill written in 1995, I believe), not 1985. It was covered by Blue Cross, Blue Shield insurance up until the late 1970s.

Other than that, looks great! Thanks for compiling all these reasons. This is a wonderful resource :)

~B.

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Jack

5/13/2011 06:57:54 am

Thanks for this excellent presentation of the facts.

I am so happy you use the term NATURAL. I have never liked the term intact and many of us only use this term -- natural penis. I have also started to call this procedure what it is -- the cutting off of baby boy penis parts. As such, no clarification is needed. I don't care what an adult does to his penis, but I do care about cutting off baby boy penis parts as that is essentially wrong -- a human rights violation.

Don't give a second thought to UROLOGIST. You are NOT giving out false information and your post is not biased. What has been biased is the past presentation and discussion in the US of the cutting off baby boy penis parts. So many doctors try to justify it or are vague, particularly if they did do this to a baby boy. They are so trying to justify it and/or avoid the plain fact that they first did do harm.

Shame on all of you (including medical doctors)that perpetuate cutting off baby boy penis parts.

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Boys' Mom

5/13/2011 11:51:09 am

All four of my sons were born with Hypospadius, and their foreskins were used in the repair of their birth defect that did require the removal of their foreskins for repair. My oldest son is 11 years, and my youngest son is 11 months. The repair on the youngest will not occur until he is closer to 18 months old. After a year old, they put the boys under general anesthesia (even for a simple circumcision), were given a penile nerve block, and they provided them with narcotic pain relief for after the surgery. I would prefer them to have remained uncut, but to have normal urinary and sexual function as adults, the repair was needed, and the foreskin was used. My youngest will need the most extensive surgery of the four boys, and it worries me, but I know that it has to be done... poor little guy.

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Informed Mom

5/13/2011 01:50:37 pm

This is so incredibly bias! MANY of your "reasons" are ENTIRELY opinion, not medical fact! Also, you repeat "facts" ( i.e. # 30 & 36) whereas others contradict themselves (i.e. # 34 & 35). It's hard to even consider taking something like this seriously when you're so blatantly bias. I was fortunate enough to find informative sources that gave me pros and cons of BOTH choices, and therefore made my own decision, WITHOUT FEELING BAD ABOUT IT.

One point I'd like to make- you said "Penile cancer causes 300 deaths a year, almost exclusively in men over the age of 70. Infant circumcision causes over 500 deaths a year worldwide. Circumcision does not prevent penile cancer." So does that mean the 300 deaths from penile cancer aren't world-wide? And DO remember that circumcisions ARE performed in places where they do not have the medical resources, sterile environments, or equipment we have in the US. How many of those 500 deaths are in the USA? How many are in other countries that AREN'T poverty-stricken?

On top of that, you state that most insurance doesn't cover circumcisions. You are correct, however any person with insurance knows these companies will get out of paying for ANYTHING they can! And if the child's health was at risk from the circ, the insurance companies would pay for it in the same way they would if you went out and, say, bungee jumped and got hurt. Doesn't matter HOW you got hurt- you're hurt!

And listing celebrities who aren't circumcised is ridiculous. How is that even remotely important? How about you list all the celebs that ARE, then?

While you're at it- if you're going to mention that there's a risk during this procedure, then you should also mention (provided you AREN'T being bias) how people still die from the FLU, or how any tiny procedure or surgery can go wrong! I knew a woman who had to have bloodwork done and her vein unraveled and she DIED! It's not common, but it DOES happen. Sheesh, it's like blaming every pit bull for one dog's incident, while they forget to mention the lab that mauled a child. Why? Because the pitbull is easier to see as aggressive.

Are you understanding any of my points? I don't know a SINGLE MAN who is circumcised who actually is unhappy with it. I'm not saying there AREN'T unhappy men out there, but not THAT many!

LOOK, I stand by any parent's choice- whether they do it or don't is fine with me. But if you're going to provide "information" or "facts", do it right. You're like the media who only gives certain "information" in order to sway the audience.

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Amy

5/13/2011 10:31:25 pm

'Informed Mom' - you sound very defensive. If you're so sure that you made the right decision, why the rush to defend it?

The problem with circumcision deaths and complications is that they're all completely preventable; completely unnecessary. Circumcision died out here around 30 years ago. I don't know any men, or boys, with problems relating to having a whole penis, and this anecdotal evidence is supported by statistics around the world. The statistics for circumcised boys make sobering reading. Meatal stenosis alone is thought to occur in up to 11% of circumcised boys. On any given day, there are a number of mothers from the USA posting on social networking sites about how their son bled excessively, contracted a post-operative infection, or, God forbid, gangrene. Parents in the USA seem blind to the fact that the USA has a disproportionate amount of penile problems. The USA has MADE the penis a problem, where there was none.

If you are 'informed', as you say, then surely country-by-country comparisons, the real world evidence, is enough to make you question whether the so-called benefits of cutting your son really outweighed the risks?

No one is judging you for a past decision that at the time you believed was best. Please be aware though, that your entire approach to the issue is tainted by your culturally biased belief that there is something 'wrong' with the penis and that it needs 'fixing'. This is identical to the approach taken to the female genitalia in countries where female circumcision is performed. They, too, believe that it's 'cleaner' and 'healthier'. Before you have another son, I hope that you can become more informed still.

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Lovemykids

5/16/2011 11:30:07 pm

Wow, if you claim this is biased, maybe you should refer to the title. I think any person who read the title would know what was contained in the body of this article. It is one thing to read it and say you are still unconvinced, but to KNOW what you are going to read and then pretend to be outraged is ridiculous. If you wanted info on the contrary, maybe you should read something called "50 Reasons to Mutilate Your Son".

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TealRose

6/6/2011 03:32:51 am

Thank you .. this is a great article. Biased ?? Well .. yes... of course you are! Biased in the sense that there is NO need for circumcision and as you say .. it belongs to the BOY not to the parents!

I fail to understand the 'need' or desire to have a child mutilated in this way in this day and age - I am 56 and come from Britain where it is virtually unheard of and definitely NOT routine! And .. wow.. we don't have men sick from diseases that circumcision 'stops' or baby boys dying from botched ops, or even men living with daily pain etc because they are all as they were intended - untouched !

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I think she means MISinformed mom

7/6/2011 11:49:27 am

The waiver we would have had to sign in a New York hospital stated that 1/200 baby boys suffer severe complications & that about 200 baby boys die every year in America from this unnecessary cosmetic surgery. According to Doctors Opposing Circumcision only 1/16,000+ ubcircumcised men have medical need to be circumcised later in life. These facts aren't biased, they're just the plain & simple truth. The choice is obvious when it's boiled down to what are the risks of doing it verses what is the likelihood of needing it.

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Amanda

7/6/2011 12:13:41 pm

It is interesting how defensive people become when they feel guilty for mutilating their children. Just another reason to leave it alone, so you never have any regrets.

I wouldn't worry about the so called urologist or "informed" mom. The first is obviously a troll, and the second is just an ignorant mom looking for justification for mutilating her boys. Guess what, pro-cutters, your argument against these types of articles will never hold water. There is no debate when it comes to infant circumcision, merely a waiting game for the rest of you to wake up and realize what you are doing to our future men (and women in countries that allow that barbaric practice). It is unfathomable why you people who cut your kids continue to think your opinions on why you do it are important to those of us who really are informed about the atrocity which is infant circumcision.

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Ford

1/30/2012 11:12:15 am

This is great and all, very informative. But as a 20 year old male I feel very humiliated to read all of this. It seems that you brought size into the issue. I simply feel humiliated and embarrassed. Thanks alot.... since your so healthy wealthy what do you recommend to overcome this fucked up feeling I have right now?

This is the best weblog for anyone who wants to know about this subject. You know a lot its virtually challenging to argue with you . You certainly place a new spin on the topic thats been composed about for many years. Fantastic things, just fantastic!

Case it relly hurts and I do not think my son to get his pines cut off case it hrtes and it's so Sad when they crray when they get it. Cut. Of

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Cut :(

7/23/2012 03:12:33 pm

Two more reasons you should add.
1) Biblical circumcision that Jewish people used to practice was far less invasive than modern mutilation. http://www.laurelofleaves.com/2011/12/is-circumcision-a-christian-thing-to-do/
2) This revolt against circumcision is growing. Your sons may be unwanted because of their less effective "equipment". Believe me, it has already happened to me and I am not even small :(

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